Batter Up and Fry: Tailgating Treats. “Beaver Nuggets”

Writing for Pine Tar Press has been an exciting journey for me. It has allowed me to explore many different recipes that I maybe normally wouldn’t on my personal blog. It has taken me around the country in my culinary explorations and opened my eyes to foods I didn’t even know existed.

While researching foods of our rivals’ cities I have come across so many fascinating dishes and then turned around to try to recreate them in my own kitchen to then bring to you here. Since I haven’t usually experienced these flavors in their native locals I’m often guessing at how they should turn out. Perhaps my renditions aren’t classically accurate, but they are prepared with loving inspiration from each community and I think they taste pretty darn good in their own right.

This recipe is no different. When researching Texas foods I came across something brand new to me: Beaver Nuggets. Apparently these are a caramel coated puffed cereal sweet snack that is offered by Bu-cee’s, a Texas convenience store. Bu-cee’s has its own line of snack products from beef jerky to salsa, but it seems like Beaver Nuggets have their own large group of devoted fans. Since I have never tasted these before, or even seen them except in a Google image search, I can only guess that they are similar to caramel corn using cereal instead of popcorn. So this is my personal take on this unique Texas treat to celebrate the Royals/Rangers series coming up.

If you’ve ever had the real deal, I’d love to hear your input!

Cereal Candy “Corn” (aka Beaver Nuggets)

(recipe inspired by Buc-ee’s and modified from Orangette’s Caramel Corn Recipe)

10 c. Kix (or other puffed corn cereal)

6 TB butter

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. light corn syrup

1/4 t. salt

2 TB water

1/2 t. baking soda

2 t. vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 250 degrees.

Cover baking sheets with a layer of parchment paper.

Spray a large mixing bowl with a bit of cooking spray. Measure out the Kix into the bowl and set aside.

Measure out all of the other ingredients and have at hand (you won’t have time to measure as you go here).

Place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Melt and then add in the brown sugar, corn syrup, salt and water. Whisk and bring to a simmer. Place a candy thermometer into the mix and bring to 250 degrees, stirring often (this will come to temperature very quickly so keep a close eye on it). Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the baking soda and vanilla extract. Be careful as the mixture will foam up and steam a bit.

Pour the caramel over top of the Kix. Stir together until the cereal is well coated. Spread onto the prepared baking sheets and place into the oven. Cook for 1 hour, stirring well every 15 minutes. Allow to cool and then break the cereal up into pieces to serve. If storing, keep in a well-sealed container in a cool, dry place.

To see what else is cooking, visit Chomping the Big Apple

Follow me @SarahBodeClark